“Large accounting firms are poaching clients using R&D Tax Credits as their pitch… that’s why CPA firms have chosen to partner with us to protect their most valuable client relationships.”
I’m sure you’re aware of the R&D Tax Credit, but are you aware that it’s being used to “steal” your firm’s clients?
Ever since the “discovery test” was eliminated from the tax code in 2004, the R&D Tax Credit became more of a business improvement tax credit rather than a scientific discovery tax credit. As such, the tax credit has been used widely by almost every industry, and today many of our largest clients are in the Agriculture, Wine, and Food & Beverage space — industries that most likely would not have qualified for the credit 17 years ago. Alongside the expansion of the criteria of the credit, the IRS removed it from being a “tier 1” issue, meaning that claiming the tax credit pre-2012 would have almost guaranteed an audit; however, now we only see about 4% of our clients audited, and most of this is due to the company being on a regular audit schedule.
So, you’ve heard of the R&D Tax Credit, and now you know it is being claimed far and wide, but how exactly is it being used against your CPA firm? Well, given how lucrative the credit is, large national and global CPA firms are using the tax credit as their lead pitch to garner new clients. They are approaching clients in all industries and saying, “We can get you 13 cents back on every dollar you’ve spent improving your business over the last 4 years and every year going forward. Is your current CPA doing that?” If the answer is “no”, I’m sure you can guess what comes next in that cycle of events. So, how do you stop that from happening and retain your image as your client’s trusted advisor?
You work with us. We are a tax credit consulting firm who has tremendous expertise and experience with the R&D Tax Credit, and we’ve served clients ranging from some of the largest public and private agriculture, wine, and food & beverage companies in the world, to local engineering and manufacturing companies. We don’t have a tax compliance or audit arm. We are solely a one-stop-shop (pardon the term) for all state and federal tax credits and incentives. That’s why CPA firms choose to partner with us.
They can market our services to their existing client base as well as to new client prospects. It requires no time from the CPA and very little time from their clients. To top it off, our studies are primarily conducted on a contingent fee basis, so your clients risk nothing by engaging our services. We earn our fees only by identifying and securing tax credits for your clients. We offer a free feasibility analysis, and all our contingent fee studies include audit defense at no additional cost.
I know what you’re thinking… “There doesn’t seem to be a downside to doing this”, and we agree. Give me a call or shoot me an email and we can discuss this in more detail.
Best,
Graham Honig
916-337-0177
